Thursday, January 19, 2017

Noor Salman, the widow of mass shooter who killed 49 people at the gay nightclub Pulse, pleaded not guilty in a California court to federal charges alleging she helped her husband.

Earlier this week, Salman was arrested by FBI agents at her home outside of San Francisco for obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting Omar Mateen's "material support or resources" to ISIS. ABC News reports prosecutors accused her of knowing her husband was going to conduct the attack. Previously, FBI investigators have said Salman traveled to Pulse with Mateen at least once before the June 12 massacre and was with him when he bought ammunition.

In a statement to ABC News, Salman's lawyer, Linda Moreno says, "Noor Salman had no foreknowledge, nor could she predict what Omar Mateen intended to do that tragic night. Noor has told her story of abuse at his hands. We believe it is misguided and wrong to prosecute her and that it dishonors the memories of the victims to punish an innocent person." Previously, Salman told the New York Times that Mateen was abusive and she had no involvement or knowledge of her husband's plans to carry out the massacre. At her court appearance, her uncle told reporters his niece had "no clue" what her husband was planning, according to ABC News.